Sonic Adventure 3: Silver's Story
by Avatar Emerald
Summary: All his life, Silver has lived in a world that has been destroyed by Iblis, the Flames of Disaster. Although hope is lost, Silver still fights to protect others, especially his best friend, Blaze. When an opportunity to change this terrible fate comes along, he does not hesitate to take it. Can Silver change history and save the lives of his friends, or will he lose his own life?
1. Chapter 1: Meetings

**Sonic Adventure 3**

**Chapter 1: Meetings**

**We now explore Silver's story in this adventure. Again, there will be some changes from the original while trying to stay true to the original intention.**

**It will also tie into Sonic's story and resolve a few things that Sonic's story hinted at.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sonic Next Gen., I am merely exploring an alternate story.**

**With that said, let's begin!**

* * *

_In the middle of a devastated city, a lilac cat in a deep purple dress, red high-healed shoe, and white leggings began to stir from her unconscious state. She wasn't sure how it happened, but the Sol Emeralds she had been guarding suddenly reacted without her giving a command. Before she knew it, she was flung into some sort of rift and everything around her went black._

_She finally woke up, and was shocked to see nothing but destruction all around her. Skyscrapers that were crumbled down with broken windows, streets that were splintered apart and at different elevations, large gaps dividing up the city, dull orange and yellow clouds covering the sky, and a red glow that emanated from a stream of fire running through the deep crevices below the city._

"_What happened here?" she whispered._

_Blaze the Cat slowly stood up and looked all around her. No matter where her eyes turned to, there was nothing but devastation._

"_Is this Sonic's world?" she questioned. "If so, what happened it?"_

_At that moment, Blaze realized with a fearful jolt that she didn't have the Sol Emeralds anymore. They must have remained back in her world, known as the Sol Dimension. While her world would be safe from being becoming out of balance and collapsing, Blaze also knew that she had no way of getting home now._

"_No," she clenched her fists. "I'll just find another way back. But…I also have a strange feeling I was sent here for a reason. In any case, I might as well try to find some locals here, if there are any."_

_The sound of a vicious roar and gunfire caught Blaze's attention. Sensing danger, she immediately ran over to the source of the commotion._

* * *

_Using his powers of telekinesis, Silver flew high above the toppled down skyscrapers of the city, staring down at the river of fire below with anger and anguish. Even before he was born, this world had been devastated. The earth was devoured by the flames and was nothing but a barren wasteland. Only a few living beings managed to survive this disaster. They escaped the fire and made new homes in the sky, the only place of refuge._

_But even the world above the earth was under threat by this disaster. In fact, that monster was the whole reason why Silver was flying around the city. He scanned the city for any signs of that demon's return. He and several others were on a mission to keep the sky from being touched with this disasters devilish scourge. With the power of telekinesis at his disposal, Silver was regarded as one of the few who could combat this evil._

_While many had developed the skill to manipulate objects with the power of their mind, Silver's skills remained unrivaled._

_But even with his powers, this mysterious disaster was still more powerful than the telekinetic hedgehog. No matter how many times Silver defeated it, it would just rise up out of its fiery grave again and again._

_As Silver was contemplating this frustrating idea, he heard the sound of gunfire and a loud roar. He immediately changed direction and sped toward the sounds. He arrived just in time to see a fire demon attacking one of the hedgehog's human comrades. He was about to rush in to assist them when a small fiery tornado seemed to come out of nowhere and attacked the monster, knocking it away from the human. The monster flew back and hit a broken piece of a wall and let out a painful howl as the fire from the tornado devoured it. It then disappeared in a burst of orange cinders._

_When the fire tornado disappeared, Silver's eyes widened in surprised when he saw a purple cat emerge from the center of it. Her hands flickered with fire for a moment before the flames disappeared completely._

_Silver blinked in confusion. He certainly had never seen her before, nor had he ever saw anyone wield fire the way she did. She used it to save a life, not destroy one. Not mention, something about her fire was different. It had more of a brilliant magenta color to it rather than a harsh red or orange glow. Plus, it seemed to harm that fire monster rather than help it._

_The purple cat let out a small huff before turning to the human._

"_Are you…" she began to say when the human backed away._

"_Fire demon!" he shouted fearfully. "Fire demon! Help!"_

_Before Silver knew what was happening, a few more members of the group that was sent to keep Iblis in check quickly approached the area and surrounded the cat. She looked nervously around, preparing for an attack._

_Silver didn't waste any time. Just as one of the soldiers was about to command an attack, he flew down at neck-breaking speed and landed protectively between the stranger and the squad, who all turned to look at in confusion and surprise._

"_STOP!" the white hedgehog shouted._

"_Silver, step aside!" the man in charge of the battalion harshly ordered. "That is a fire creature!"_

"_No, she's not!" Silver retorted. "I saw her save one of our men!"_

"_What makes you think she "saved" him?! She might be a minion of Iblis!"_

"_Iblis is just a destruction craving monster and even you know that!" Silver's eyes narrowed. "He doesn't have the sense to create a creature that could talk, much less think on it's own! Besides, her fire defeated one of Iblis' minions! I SAW her defeat it! She's not evil! I just know it!"_

_The purple cat looked at the hedgehog in front of her with bewilderment. Too often she was used to having people against her once they found out about her power over fire that having someone defending her despite of her curse was…strange to say the least. Especially since she had never met him before. Why was he so sure that she was on their side?_

"_Please, Captain," Silver continued in a slightly more calm tone, "just give her a chance! She might be able to help us!"_

_The man in charge of the squad gave a suspicious look. His eyes darted back and forth between the hedgehog and the cat. Silver's face showed no sign of faltering from its determined expression. He was not budging on the idea._

"_Very well," the Captain said firmly, "we'll take her back to base. We need to restock anyway. But for now, she's under your responsibility, Silver. If she gets out of line, you'll also receive a punishment. Do I make myself clear?"_

"_Crystal clear." Silver replied with a small nod. "But I don't think you'll need to worry."_

_With the matter settled, the group immediately made their way to an aircraft that would take them back to their station in the sky. Silver turned around to look at the stranger, who was looking at him with a subtle expression of confusion._

"_Listen, I'm sorry about that." Silver said. "Everyone's a bit on edge because of Iblis. You sure you're okay?"_

"_I…I'm fine," the cat replied in a monotone voice. "Thank you."_

"_No problem," the hedgehog nodded. "By the way, my name's Silver."_

"_Yeah, I…kind of gathered that," the cat said. "My name is Blaze."_

"_Nice to meet you, Blaze. Well, we better get going. The squad is going to leave for the base soon. We should join them."_

_Silver turned and began to walk away with Blaze following him. Many questions were racing through her head but she was unsure of how to present them. Who was Silver? Where was she? And who was this "Iblis" that they kept mentioning?_

_The question of Iblis was the one that was agonizing the pryokinetic cat the most, considering that she was accused of being part of its army. And now seemed to be the best time to bring it up._

"_Silver," she asked, "who is this Iblis that you and the others were talking about?"_

_At the sound of the question, and at the mention of this monster, Silver stopped and his eyes narrowed into a deep, distressed scowl directed at the something in the distance that only he could see. Blaze didn't show it, but she had a feeling that she had crossed into a very sensitive subject. Silver clenched his fists and his cyan markings flickered with telekinetic energy._

"_Iblis!" Silver growled, "He's an eternal life form that we cannot truly defeat: the Flames of Disaster!"_


	2. Chapter 2: Stranger from the Dark

**Chapter 2: Stranger from the Dark**

_Six months later…_

Down in the ruined city, a monstrous demon rose up from the fiery depths of its resting place and let out a loud roar. The sound could be heard from miles around. The fire spilling out from the crevasses of it's molten rock body intensified the flames below, making them rage and rise higher. The monster's three poisonous green eyes scanned the ground area before looking up into the sky, attempted to reach out and strike it.

At that moment, a cyan light came out of what seemed to be nowhere and smacked the arm away. The creature sharply turned around to see a silvery white hedgehog and lilac cat standing firm on a ledge in front of him.

"C'mon, Iblis!" Silver shouted. "Let's finish this!"

The monster simply responded with a roar and immediately charged in for a punch. Silver and Blaze immediately dodged the attack but leaping in opposite directions. The telekinetic hedgehog then grabbed the monster in a psychic grip, immobilizing him. Blaze lit up in a fury of magenta fire and threw a ball of flame at the monster's face, hitting the large eye in the center of his forehead.

Iblis reared back in agony, breaking free of Silver's telekinetic grip. The hedgehog grimaced for a moment as the sudden action sent a small jolt of pain rushing through his brain. He quickly recovered and then turned to his companion. They both shared a quick nod and took their fighting stances.

When the fire monster turned around angrily to face them, Blaze once again lit up a radiance of magenta fire. Using his telekinesis, Silver grabbed Blaze in a cyan light as she spun around in a shield of flames. As Iblis moved in to finish the two off, Silver made a swinging motion with his arm and Blaze took off at an incredible speed and struck right through the fire demon's head.

As Iblis hollered in agony and fell back into the lava surrounding him, Silver shot from his stop and grabbed Blaze. The lilac cat immediately clutched the hedgehog as he flew back to the platform and safely landed on the ground.

"Blaze, are you alright?" Silver asked, concerned.

"I'm fine." Blaze nodded.

Blaze let Silver go as he placed her back on the ground. The two of them then turned and looked back at the fiery pit where the monster had just vanished. All around them, the lava and fire infecting the city had died down significantly, showing that Iblis had been stopped.

Well, for now anyway.

"He'll just rise up from his ashes again!" Silver said with a scowl. "What's the point of all this?! It'll never end!"

"Silver," Blaze tried to say with comfort, "calm down."

But Silver didn't calm down. Instead, he slammed his fist against a broken down wall. Blaze gave a sympathetic look when she saw her friend was clearly frustrated and angry about the whole situation.

"Blaze, you don't understand!" Silver replied rather harshly. "You've only had to fight Iblis for six months! Myself and everyone else have had to fight him for our whole lives! We've had to watch helplessly as he destroys our world! And when we do defeat him, we're only delaying the evitable! People live without hope and I'm helpless to do anything about it! I can't stand it anymore!"

Silver hung his head and shut his eyes tight. Indeed, he couldn't stand living like this anymore. Day after day it was the same thing: watching the world be destroyed by Iblis and watching people become destroyed both physically and emotionally by this catastrophe.

He then felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Blaze standing close to him. He felt heat rise in his face a little when he looked directly into her honey colored eyes.

"I know, Silver." Blaze replied gently. "But you haven't lost faith. If you had, you still wouldn't be fighting Iblis. I believe in you. I know you'll find a way to defeat Iblis once and for all. It's just a matter of time before you do."

Silver took in a deep breath and exhaled, giving a very small smile. Somehow, Blaze always knew what to say at times like this.

In fact, ever since he met her, the two had been spending a lot of time together. They usually went on missions together, talked to each other about their lives, and even practiced fighting together when they weren't fighting Iblis. During their time together, Silver had learned about Blaze being from another dimension, that she was a princess as well as a guardian of seven gems known as the Sol Emeralds, and that she had the gift of fire.

After some time, the two began to form a close bond. Eventually, this led them to make a promise to each other: Blaze promised to help Silver defeat Iblis, and Silver promised to help Blaze find her way back to her world.

However, so far, neither one of them had been able to keep their promises.

Still, they clung to their promises with full intention on fulfilling them.

"Now come on," Blaze said, "let's get back."

Eventually, Silver gave a small nod they two of them started to walk away from the scene.

However, a small, humming sound from behind made Silver's ears twitch. He turned his head around and saw a strange, deep purple mist swirling around the edge of the platform. Just looking at it gave Silver a strange sensation of fear.

"Silver?"

Silver immediately shot his hand up, signaling for Blaze to be quiet. When the purple cat saw what her friend was looking at, she immediately closed her mouth. The two friends then darted over to a large slap of stone in the shape of two walls and hide behind it. They both peeked out from around the corner with Silver down on his hands and knees and Blaze standing just above him.

Out of the mist came another hedgehog. Only this one was a little different compared to some of the other residence of this post apocalyptic world. His sickly colors such as greyish skin and dully green highlights would actually be considered common among many in this time. Not to mention, his skater like shoes didn't seem to be out of the ordinary either. However, he didn't seem to have a mouth. That was a little more than strange, even for this future.

But what Silver and Blaze noticed the most were his eyes. Now they were defiantly something that would be considered abnormal. They were of a poisonous green color and lacked reflection. The look of them was very sinister, and demonic.

The moment the strange hedgehog stepped out of the mist, it disappeared behind him. Silver and Blaze cautiously ducked back as it looked around the city.

"Hmm," the grey hedgehog said in a voice that sound proud, "such destruction. Pity that's all Iblis can do on his own. No matter, I can help increase his power. Or, he'll help me increase mine."

"What?" Silver whispered.

Before anyone knew what was happening, the grey hedgehog raised his hand and emitted a strange, violet light. From pool of flames, a large core of molten rock surrounded by same light began to rise up. Silver and Blaze watched with a mixture of curiosity and fear as the grey hedgehog rose up toward it.

"_Is that Iblis' core?"_ the thought quickly sprinted through Silver's mind.

"Well, Iblis," he said, "looks like you and I will be joined together at last."

The grey hedgehog stretched his arm out and touched the rock with his hand. However, the moment he came in contact with it, the was a huge roar and the ball of rock and fire lit up in a fury of red, sending out a wave of fire and pushing the grey hedgehog away. As the stranger landed and tumbled across the ground for a few feet, the molten rock hovered for a moment before falling back into the pit of lava.

Noticing that they were in a position where the stranger would see them once he recovered, Silver and Blaze quickly darted from their spot and silently hide behind a pile of rubble. As much as they wanted to confront this guy, something told them that this wouldn't be the best time to do so.

They watched as the strange hedgehog slowly got up from his spot and groaned in irritation.

"No!" he clenched. "I should've known! Iblis is too wild in this form! Curse you, Solaris!"

"Solaris?" Blaze whispered. "Who's that?"

"I don't know." Silver replied in a hushed voice.

"No matter," the grey hedgehog scowled, "I can still travel back in time to the point of the Festival of the Sun. The Princess of Soleanna will have the Amulet. Looks like that is the only way to release Iblis."

"Travel back in time?" Silver kept his voice down but his eyes widened in shock.

The next thing the two friends knew, the grey hedgehog created another portal of purple energy and walked through it.

Silver didn't miss a beat. The moment the stranger walked through and disappeared, he jumped out from behind the rubble and grabbed the portal with his telekinesis, forcing it to stay open. He grimaced and struggled to maintain the opening. It seemed to swirl with some kind of demonic energy and was beginning to interfere with Silver's psychic powers.

"Silver, what are you doing?!" Blaze asked, surprised.

"Blaze, this is our chance!" Silver cringed. "This must be a time portal! If we follow that guy, we can probably head back to the past and prevent Iblis from being unleashed!"

"Silver, you know you jump to conclusions quickly, what if…!"

"We'll just have to take out chances and hope we're right now GO!" Silver forcefully ordered.

Blaze hesitated for a second before sharply nodding and running toward the portal. The moment she passed Silver, the two of them grabbed hands and Silver shot toward the opening, caring Blaze behind him.

The second the two had passed through the purple mist, disappearing from their current time frame, the portal closed behind them.


	3. Chapter 3: Blast to the Past

**Chapter 3: Blast to the Past**

The moment Silver and Blaze entered the portal, Silver was starting to regret acting so rashly.

Just in a heartbeat, the light vanished into a dim violet glow and the air had become so thin that Silver gasped and coughed for as much of it as his lungs could salvage. On top of that, there was a strong presence of something dark, sinister, and evil spiraling and whipping all around him and Blaze. It seemed to send a chilling wave right through Silver, making him shiver and cringe slightly. This power felt like it was groping around in his mind and heart, draining him of his energy and power and sucking the air out of his body.

However, he wasn't the only one feeling this sensation either. Blaze strained and grimaced as she fought back the power, but it was becoming too much for her to handle.

"SILVER!" Blaze coughed. "I CAN'T BREATHE!"

"JUST HANG ON, BLAZE!" Silver managed to reply. "WE CAN MAKE IT!"

Silver tightened his grip on Blaze's hand. No matter what was going on around them, he wasn't going to let her go!

However, he soon began to feel Blaze slipping from his grasp, like something was pulling her away. The lilac cat herself started to feel her hand sliding out of his hand. She reached her other hand out to grab hold of Silver's, but she missed.

She slipped out of Silver's grip and began to fall away from him, spiraling down toward oblivion!

"SILVER!"

"BLAZE!"

The telekinetic hedgehog stretched out his hand and his psychic power managed to grab her. The next thing Blaze knew, Silver swung his arm back and she sailed straight to him. The moment she reached him, he flung his arms around her and held her close. Simply out of reaction, Blaze clutched her friend tightly.

"I won't let go, no matter what!" Silver whispered.

At that moment, the two of them became engulfed in darkness, and they both lost consciousness.

* * *

A light, chirping sound was the first thing Silver heard as he started to come around to his senses. He then felt a gentle breeze sweep past him, ruffling his quills and fur.

The silver hedgehog struggled to open his eyes. A dim, gentle green light made him wince and shut his eyes for a moment. He slowly opened his eyes again and blinked. He turned his head slightly and saw that Blaze was lying unconscious beside him; her arm still wrapped around him like his was wrapped around her.

Upon seeing her, the hedgehog suddenly felt fully awake and immediately sat up. Blaze's arm slipped off of him as he did. Silver then gently shook her shoulder.

"Blaze?" Silver asked, concerned. "Are you alright? Wake up!"

Blaze winced as she began to stir. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her friend with a dazed expression.

"Silver?" she said.

"Yeah, I'm here." Silver nodded, assuring.

Blaze gave a small, soft smile and then slowly sat up. She shook her head slightly, shaking away the dizziness swirling around in her brain.

"You sure you're okay?" Silver asked.

"I'm fine." Blaze replied. "Are you alright?"

"I think so. At least we're alive."

However, the moment Silver became aware of their surroundings and looked around, he wasn't so sure about that anymore.

The hedgehog from the future stared in speechless awe, taking in the scene before him. All around him and Blaze was a beautiful forest, richly green with enormous trees that stretched up to the sky. Leafs on the trees rustled softly in the sweet breeze and the grass gently swayed in the wind. High above the treetops was a pale blue sky with small white clouds floating across it. White cliffs towered over them, enclosing the forest like a wall. Down the hill to the left was a small pond of crystal clear water that twinkled with the sunlight.

And the sun itself, that was definitely a sight to behold. Although Silver couldn't see it clearly through the branches and leafs of the trees, he could still see that orb shining down upon the earth with radiant beams of light that seemed to hold a promise of hope and joy.

"This is so unbelievable!" Silver finally said.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Blaze smiled.

"Beautiful?" Silver looked at his friend. "I'd say it's more like…majestic!"

Blaze simply nodded. She knew that this was the first time Silver had ever seen anything like this in his life. While it was refreshing for her to see the world as it was meant to be, she could only speculate how Silver was feeling right now. He had only heard from Blaze what a world like this was like, and often expressed how much he wanted to see it and how much he wanted his time to have the same beauty as hers

Well, now he had finally gotten at least half of his wish. And the expression on his face said it all: he felt as if he had just stumbled upon a paradise.

"I've only heard stories of places like this." Silver said in a low, amazed voice. "But now…I don't know."

"It's overwhelming, right?" Blaze asked.

Silver didn't respond verbally, but he looked at his friend and gave a small nod. Overwhelming was just he word he was looking for.

Eventually, Silver and Blaze both stood up and looked at each other.

"Well," Blaze sighed, "I guess this is where our journey begins."

"I guess so." Silver looked away. "You ready?"

"Ready when you are," the cat nodded. "I just hope we know what we've gotten ourselves into."

"Me, too," the hedgehog looked back at his comrade. "We still have no idea who that guy was or what he's up to. I suggest we find him and get some answers."

"Don't be too hasty, Silver. We first need to figure out where we are. Not to mention, _when_ we are. If we can figure out how far back in time we've gone, we might have a better idea on how to prevent the horrible future from ever coming to pass."

Silver nodded. As much as he wanted to know who that creepy grey hedgehog was and why he tried to control Iblis, he knew that Blaze was right. They couldn't afford to act rashly again, especially with the fate of the world at stake.

"Now," Blaze continued, "I suggest we take a look around, we may be able to find someone who can help."

"I'll fly up and see if I can get an idea of where we are."

With that said, Silver used his telekinesis to levitate himself up through the trees and into the sky. As soon as he emerged from the treetops, he was captivated once again with the landscape before him. Stretched out before him was a sea of trees. He was so used to seeing a river of fire that this lush, green forest just about took his breath away. The strong, refreshing wind swept all around him, as if embracing him into this timeline.

"Silver!" Blaze's voice shouted. "What do you see?!"

Silver shook his head for a moment as Blaze's voice broke his trance. He sharply looked around and saw about a mile or so off in the distance some tall buildings nestled behind some cliffs near something blue and twinkling.

"Blaze!" Silver shouted. "I think I see a city! It's just beyond that ridge! Follow me!"

Blaze followed the flying hedgehog out of the forest and into a clearing. He continued to guide her until they came to a large set of doors nestled between two cliffs just beyond and stone bridge. Silver then gracefully landed beside his friend as they approached the doors.

"You think there's anyone guarding it?" Silver said, suspicious.

"I should think so." Blaze replied. "Why don't you try knocking?"

"Okay, then."

Silver slowly walked up to the door and knocked on it three times. After he knocked the final time, a panel in the door just above him opened up and pair of eyes stared down at the hedgehog.

"Who goes there?" the man asked firmly.

"My name is Silver and this is my friend Blaze," the hedgehog replied. "Do you mind telling me where me where we are?"

"Why, you're at the capital city of Soleanna." The guard said.

"Soleanna?" Silver raised and eyebrow.

"Yes, now what is your business here?"

"Please, may we enter the city?" Blaze asked. "It's very important."

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't allow anyone to enter without reason. Especially since the Princess was kidnapped last night by some guy called Dr. Eggman."

"Wait," Blaze suddenly said. "Did a certain blue hedgehog try to stop this man?"

"Why, yes. Why, do you know that hedgehog?"

"Yes." Blaze nodded. "In fact...his friends called the two of us for back up. They did say it was an emergency; they just didn't have time to explain it all to us. We came as fast as we could but Dr. Eggman's robots attacked us and that slowed us down."

"Uh, yeah, that's right." Silver quickly nodded, hiding his confusion.

"Oh, well why didn't you say that in the first place?" the guard replied. "Let me just get the door for you."

A few minutes later, the large doors opened up, allowing Silver and Blaze to enter the down small cave toward the city. Once they were a good enough distance away from the guard and out of his hearing range, Silver walked a little closer to Blaze and whispered:

"I never knew you could be quite the fibber."

"Well," Blaze smiled a little, "it wasn't total fib. I do know Sonic."

"Sonic?"

"The blue hedgehog the man spoke of." Blaze explained. "Let's just say we have a history."

"I see." Silver replied.

"And also, I guess you can say I owe him one."

"How's that?"

"Sonic helped me save my world from destruction once. I guess it's my turn to return the favor. Not to mention, I still have to keep my promise and help you save the future."

"Well then, let's see if we can track him down." Silver said with determination. "And the sooner the better."

Blaze gave a sharp nod and the two friends raced of toward the city, with Silver gliding alongside his friend.

* * *

On top of a large bell tower, gazing down at the city below him, a majestic phoenix the size of a peregrine falcon stood as still as a statue. His gold and silver coloring would've been enough to draw attention to himself, no matter how high up he was. However, not a single person acknowledged his presence. This was because he chose not to reveal himself. Even his shadow was hidden from the eyes of the mortals below.

From his place high above the city, his keen eyes zeroed on a silvery white hedgehog that had just entered the city.

"He has arrived," the phoenix said, "Mephiles has been unleashed, the Princess has passed the Amulet of Light to a trusted ally. All events have been set into motion. If the right choices are taken, then the darkness that Mephiles carries with him will be extinguished. That all lies in your hands: you who have traveled from the future. Keep the hope shining inside, for what beats in your heart is the courage that will save the ones you care about."


	4. Chapter 4: Followed

**Chapter 4: Followed**

Silver tried as hard as he could to not just stand around and gawk at the city around him like some stupid tourist, but he couldn't help but take a few moments to take in the scene around him. All his life, he had seen nothing but a city devastated by fire and lava that now seeing it in the sunshine by a sparkling clear ocean was just so much for him to take in.

"This looks so beautiful," the hedgehog said to his friend as they walked past a large fountain. "I've never seen the sky this blue before. And the air is so clear. No smoke or fire polluting it."

"It is wonderful." Blaze smiled. "I'm glad you get to experience it for yourself."

"Not only that," Silver replied, "we have a chance to make the future as bright as the world is now."

"That we do. But first we need to find Sonic and get his help."

"Maybe some people around town know where he is. I say we ask around."

"An obvious approach, but usually very effective." Blaze said with a smirk.

For the next hour, Silver and Blaze walked around the city, asking many of the residence if they had seen a blue hedgehog anywhere. For the most part, the people they asked said they only saw him at the festival last night when Princess Elise was abducted and he tried to rescue her.

However, there were a few individuals who said they saw him and his friends heading for Wave Ocean beach earlier this morning. Silver and Blaze decided that searching there would be the best place to start, since that was their only lead so far.

Once they reached the beach, which was just a few miles south of the city, they quickly made their way across the sandy terrain with Blaze running and Silver gliding beside her.

"How do you like the beach?" Blaze asked her friend.

"It's amazing!" Silver replied with a smile. "Is this how it is back in your world?!"

"Yes, and even more so," Blaze said, smiling. "There are even some islands where the sand is as white as snow and palm trees stretch towards the sky."

"So you've said before. And seeing the ocean for myself, I would just love to see your world."

"Well, I don't see why you can't. But for now, let's just focus on stopping Iblis from being unleashed and save the future."

"Oh, right, sorry." Silver said, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I just got a little distracted."

"I don't blame you." Blaze simply shrugged. "This must all be a lot for you to take in."

"It is. But at the same time, I at least know what's at stake now. And once we get some help I'm sure we can…"

Before Silver could finish his sentence, he suddenly stopped when he saw something dark move just a little ways ahead of him and Blaze. His eyes widened for a moment and he grabbed Blaze by the arm. He then quickly flew straight behind a tall pillar of rocks.

"Ow!" Blaze grimaced at the sudden action. "Silver! Don't pull me about! What's…!"

"Shh!" Silver cut her off before saying in a hushed voice. "I just saw that creep from before!"

"What?!" Blaze said in the same tone as her friend. "Where?!"

"He's in the shadow of a sea-stack!"

The two friends carefully peaked around the corner of the rock and saw the same sickly grey hedgehog they had seen in the future. Like some creature from a black lagoon, he emerged from the shadow of a large sea-stack in what seemed to be a puddle of icky black goo. Once he had fully formed, he slowly tilted his head up toward the sky. At the same time, there was the sound of plane engine drawing closer and closer.

Silver and Blaze looked up and saw a large red biplane flying about half a mile above them toward the west. Although they were down on the ground, they could just see in the cockpit that there was a small fox and on the one of the wings was a blue hedgehog.

"It's Sonic and Tails!" Blaze exclaimed in a hush voice.

"What?!" Silver quietly replied.

Before Blaze could respond to her friend, the strange hedgehog turned his head in their direction. Silver and Blaze quickly ducked back behind the rocks again, pressing themselves a flat as they could against the wall. The moment of silence that followed made Silver feel uneasy. Neither one of them had any idea who this guy was nor what he was cable of. The only thing they knew for sure was that he had the power to travel through time. And if he has that power, there's no telling what other powers he might have.

And at the moment, Silver didn't really want to find out the hard way just yet.

Cautiously, the hedgehog looked around the corner. To his surprise and relief, the creepy stranger seemed to dissolve back into the shadow of the sea stack. After that, the icky mist moved along the shadows and onto another. As Silver continued to watch it, he realized that it was going in the same direction as that biplane from before.

"Blaze," Silver said, "I think he's following those two."

"Well then," Blaze replied, "let's go. We have to find out what he's up to."

Silver simply nodded and the two friends immediately ran off toward the west. In their haste, they didn't notice a black hedgehog with red highlights in his quills step out from behind a pile of rocks nearby and switch on a communicator on his wrist.

"G.U.N. HQ," he said, "I found the targets. One shows to possess a high level of energy. Initiating the mission now."

"Be careful, Agent Shadow," a strong, commanding voice replied. "Remember, we need them alive for questioning."

"Understood."

With that, Shadow the Hedgehog disconnected the call and immediately set out after the silvery white hedgehog and lilac cat.

* * *

On a high platform just above a large arena where he had watch the blue hedgehog defeat a large robotic dog, Silver peeked out from behind a wall. His attention was on the figure in the shadows as well as the blue blur in the distance.

When he saw the darker hedgehog in the shadows of the arena turn his head in his direction, Silver immediately ducked back behind the wall and pressed himself against it, hoping that the stranger didn't see him. The shadowy stared at the ledge for a moment before melting back into the darkness of the stadium.

"Whew," Silver wiped the sweat from his forehead when he saw the figure melt away, "that was a close one."

He then cautiously looked around the corner in the direction that the blue hedgehog ran off in.

"I finally found him." he mumbled. "Now to save the future."

Silver then turned to Blaze, who simply nodded. They both knew what they had to do. Using his telekinesis, Silver picked Blaze up in a psychic bubble and the two of them began to fly over the arena.

It was at that moment that Silver heard the sound of some kind of electric energy. Before he could react, a sharp pain struck his back, making him lose focus.

"AUGH!" he screamed in pain.

The next thing Silver knew, the world around him became a huge spiraling blur as he and Blaze fell to the ground. Silver hit the stone floor of the arena and tumbled for a few feet before hitting the fallen Egg-Cerberus and laying flat on his back. His face twisted in agony.

He then heavily gasped when something stomped down on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Silver looked up sharply and his blood ran cold. Standing over the white hedgehog, with his foot on Silver's chest, was another hedgehog.

For a split second, Silver thought that it was the same hedgehog he and Blaze had been following. But the moment he saw the details, he quickly changed his mind.

For one thing, this hedgehog was black with red highlights in his six long quills. He also had red streaks running up his forearms and ankles. And unlike that other hedgehog, this one had a mouth. But the most notable trait was the fact that this hedgehog had red eyes. And at the moment, they were glaring at Silver with a suspicious look.

"I've been authorized to take you into custody!" the black hedgehog said in a dark, serious tone. "You and your friend are under arrest!"

"What?!" Silver shouted. "On what charge?!"

"For associating with Mephiles!"


	5. Chapter 5: Join Forces

**Chapter 5: Join Forces**

"Get off him!"

Silver glanced over when he heard Blaze's voice and saw her throw a fireball at the black hedgehog. The attacker quickly leapt out of way, forcing a gasp out of Silver as he pressed his foot down on the sterling hedgehog's chest to make his jump. Silver coughed and panted hard, struggling to fill his lungs with air.

Once the strange hedgehog was out of the way, Blaze darted over to her friend just as he began to roll over onto his front and lift himself up.

"Silver!" Blaze shouted. "Are you okay?!"

"I…I'm okay." Silver nodded, panting. "I'm fine."

With a little help from his feline friend, Silver got to his feet and turned to face the other hedgehog with an angry glare, preparing himself for another surprise attack. This guy had already gotten the jump on him once, and Silver certainly wasn't going to let it happen a second time.

"What is this about us being in affiliation with Mephiles?!" the white hedgehog demanded. "And who are you?!"

"You were reported to exit a portal that registered with his power signature!" the black hedgehog replied harshly. "I have orders to take you in for questioning!"

"What?!" Silver shouted in both confusion and anger. "We have nothing to do with any "Mephiles"!"

"Hold it!" Blaze stepped forward. "There's no reason to become violent about this! If you're talking about that mysterious grey hedgehog, then there's a misunderstanding! We're following him ourselves!"

The black hedgehog's face turned from suspicious to a subtle tone of skeptical. Silver, on the other hand, didn't let his guard down. He kept his fighting pose and didn't even blink once.

"And if it's answers you want," Blaze continued, becoming more calm, "then we gladly answer any questions you ask. You have our word."

"Blaze!" Silver looked at his friend with bewilderment.

"Silver, just trust me," the violet cat replied.

"Very well then." the attacker said warily. "Why are you two following him?"

"First," Silver glared, "you haven't told us who you are."

"I am Shadow," the hedgehog replied, "Shadow the Hedgehog. I am an agent for G.U.N."

"G.U.N.?" the white hedgehog raised an eyebrow.

"Guardian Unit of Nations." Shadow replied. "Now tell me, who are you two are why are you following Mephiles?"

"My name is Silver and this Blaze." Silver said. "As for why we're following Mephiles, that's a long story."

"I'm listening."

For the next half hour, Silver and Blaze told their story to Shadow. About how they came from the distant future, how it was destroyed by Iblis, how they encountered Mephiles, and how they used his time portal to come back to the past.

As they continued to explain their story, the tension in the group slowly began to subside. Shadow eventually began to show less suspicion and more trust. However, while Silver didn't feel as defensive as before, he still kept an eagle eye on Shadow's movements. Considering the fact this guy took them by surprise once already, the telekinetic hedgehog didn't want that to happen a second time.

Plus, he wasn't too happy about Shadow nearly breaking his back.

"And so, we ended up here." Blaze concluded. "We were going to meet up with Sonic and warn him when you shot us out of the sky."

"I see." Shadow nodded. "Then I apologize. It's just that Mephiles has become our top priority and we needed to get as much information on him as we could. We thought you two might have been working with him."

"That's understandable, I guess." Silver said in a low voice. "Still, did you have to shoot me in the back to get my attention?"

"Had I known you were allies instead of enemies I wouldn't have done it in the first place." Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Besides, I already apologized for my behavior."

"Fair enough," Silver sighed heavily. "Apology accepted. Now, shouldn't we focus on meeting up with Sonic and warning him about Mephiles?"

"Good idea." Blaze nodded. "I have a feeling that Mephiles is after Sonic."

"And he doesn't know what Mephiles is cable of doing." Shadow murmured before looking back at the Silver and Blaze. "Let's go. I think I know where they are."

Without a moment of hesitation, Silver, Blaze, and Shadow set out from the Dusty Desert and headed down the path that would take them back to Wave Ocean. While Shadow and Blaze ran at an incredible speed, Silver glided beside them.

As they traveled back to the beach, Silver's mind slowly began to drift to a memory from what seemed to be the distant past. Just something about the events that had just taken place seemed to trigger a wave of déjà vu.

* * *

_In the sky station above the ruined city, Silver walked down the corridor that would lead to the cafeteria. It had been two days since he and his team found Blaze and took her back to their base. Ever since then, she has kept her distance from everyone. She stayed in her room most of the time, sat alone at a table during meal times, and she never spoke to anyone. Silver figured it was because of what happened that day she mysteriously showed up. Not to mention all of the rumors circulating around the station that she is a fire demon created by Iblis and it's only a matter of time before she uses her firepower to destroy everyone on board._

_Silver, on the other hand, didn't believe a word of the gossip. Every time he heard even the most remote mention of Blaze being somehow connected to Iblis, he felt anger just surge through him. Just because Blaze had the power of fire, didn't mean that she was in cahoots with Iblis. Many on the station actually found it weird that someone like the telekinetic hedgehog, who above all hated Iblis with a passion, would defend a stranger who possessed the power of flames. More than once, he was questioned on the matter, and each time he replied with a harsh glare._

_Silver simply couldn't stand injustice done to anyone, pyrokinetic or otherwise._

_On this particular day, when the sterling hedgehog got to the cafeteria and got his breakfast of toast with butter and a glass water, he looked up and saw the lilac cat sitting by herself at a table near the back of the room. She was dismally munching on a slice of bread with eyes cast downward at the table. Although Silver had seen her that way so many times, something about this instance made him walk over to her. When he reached the table, he stopped as she looked up and looked at him with a blank expression._

"_Hey," he said._

"_Hello," she replied._

"_Um, mind if I sit here."_

"_Go ahead."_

_Feeling just a little nervous and uncomfortable, Silver took a seat almost directly next to Blaze and began to eat his breakfast. Every now and then, he would glance up and see the other residence of the station looking at the two of them and then whisper to the person next to them. Silver may not be telepathic, but he didn't need to be a mind reader to know they were gossiping again. He could also tell that the violet cat knew it, too. His sympathetic nature began to take over and he began to think of casual things to talk about and get her mind off of the rumors._

"_So," Silver said, "you're name is Blaze, right?"_

"_Yes," Blaze simply nodded, "and your name is Silver."_

"_Yeah. Um, how's been going?"_

_Blaze didn't respond._

"_Oh, never mind," Silver shook his head. "That was a stupid question. Uh, I have to do maintenance work on the south wing of the station today. Basically, I'll be helping out some of the engineers to make sure this place stays airborne. Then I'll be doing some more scouting work down on the earth below. Hopefully I don't have to…"_

"_Why?" Blaze suddenly asked, looking at the hedgehog with curiosity._

"_Uh," Silver hesitated for a moment, surprised that the cat spoke to him, "why what?"_

"_Why are you talking to me?" the cat asked._

"_Am I not supposed to?"_

"_No, it's just…everyone here shuns me because of my curse. Why don't you?"_

"_Okay, first of all, your power is not a curse." Silver said calmly. "Secondly, I know rumors have been going around, but that doesn't mean they are true. And third, I believe that you should never judge someone based on appearance. Just because you wield the power of fire doesn't mean you are evil."_

"_Evil?" Blaze looked at her friend, slightly offended._

"_Oh, sorry," Silver quickly apologized, "that was the wrong word."_

"_No, it's okay," the cat gave a small smile, "I understand what your saying."_

"_Blaze," Silver said sincerely, "I know we just met, but…I would like to be your friend."_

"_Friend?" Blaze sounded almost surprised._

"_Yeah," Silver simply nodded. "But I don't want to pressure you, either. I want to help you, but only if you let me. If not, then I will respect your space."_

_Silver took another bite of his toast before taking a drink of water. Blaze looked away from the hedgehog for a moment. Too long, she had grown used to being shunned and outcast by her power that having someone willingly want to be her friend despite of it was very new to her. Sure, she had been offered friendship before when she had been in this world before in another timeline, but this one seemed to be different. The other friendships she found seemed to be forced because she had to deal with the fact she had to team up with Sonic and his friends to save both her world and his._

_But Silver seemed to approach this differently. He talked to her in a calm, respectful manner. Although she had to admit that his request to be her friend sounded a little naïve. But there was something strangely refreshing about that. He wasn't forceful or anything of that nature. Instead, he sounded sincere._

"_Okay." Blaze finally said._

"_Okay what?" Silver asked._

"_We can try…being friends," the lilac cat gave a small nod._

"_Right," the hedgehog also nodded. "Well, I have to go check on the south wing. Do you want to come with me?"_

"_I…I guess so."_

"_Okay, then. C'mon, we better get going."_

_After dropping their dirty dishes off at the cleaning station, Silver and Blaze quickly made their way to their destination._

* * *

Silver shook his head as the memory abruptly ended. He had become so lost in thought that he didn't notice how much time had passed. The sun had just set and the landscape had been covered in the darkness of night.

"You okay, Silver?" Blaze asked when she noticed his sudden actions.

"Huh?" Silver looked at his friend. "Oh, yeah. Just…lost in thought."

"Oh, about what?"

"Just the past," the telekinetic hedgehog looked away.

At that moment, there was a small beeping sound. The group immediately came to a stop and Shadow immediately turned on his wrist communicator.

"Agent Shadow," a commanding voice came from the device, "we have received a signal that Mephiles is on the move. He's heading toward the city and your the closest agent in the area. Get over there immediately."

"Understood, Commander." Shadow said.

Shadow then turned off the communicator and looked up at his two companions. All they needed to do was give simultaneous nods to know they were all thinking the same thing. Without saying another word, they all set out toward the Soleanna Forest.

* * *

With Shadow and Blaze running through the forest below, Silver flew high into the sky to get a bird's eye view of the land. From where he was, he could see that there was a huge commotion going on near the gates of the city. As he drew closer, he could see that there was a serious fight going on.

He stopped for a moment when he saw Mephiles break through a golden shield surrounding a blue hedgehog. The force of the impact sent the blue hedgehog flying back into the side of a rocky cliff. He then collapsed on the ground with small pebbles showing down on him.

Just as Mephiles approached the injured opponent, Silver immediately flew down at neck-breaking speed. He focused his telekinetic energy into his hands and hardened it, making it into a shielding-like power. Just as Mephiles was about to bring the crystal spear in his hand down and deliver a fatal blow, Silver got between them and blocked the blow. He strained a little as the impact sent a sharp wave of mild pain to his brain, but he refused to waver. He still kept his shield strong, much to Mephiles' shock and frustration.

Shortly after Silver blocked the spear, Shadow and Blaze emerged into sight and rushed over to the confused and injured hedgehog.

"Hmph, you look terrible." Shadow said as he knelt down toward his friend on the right.

"Sorry we're late Sonic," Blaze said gently as she knelt down and put her hand on the blue hedgehog's left shoulder, "we came as fast as we could."

"Blaze?" Sonic grimaced with confusion.

Mephiles stumbled back as Silver used pushed his shield forward. The telekinetic hedgehog then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and outstretched his arms. With the simple focus of his mind, all around, bunch of large boulders within a three-yard radius began to levitate.

"Who are you, hedgehog?!" Mephiles growled with irritation.

The white hedgehog opened his eyes and stared at his opponent with a determined glare.

"My name is Silver!" he answered in a strong voice. "Ally of justice and denizen of the future!"


	6. Chapter 6: Unfamiliar Face

**Chapter 6: Unfamiliar Face**

Mephiles paused for a moment as he glared at the young hedgehog in front of him. Since he didn't have a mouth, Silver couldn't tell if he was grinning or not. However, the look in his eyes was enough to send a chill down the telekinetic hedgehog's spine. Mephiles didn't seem to be intimidated by Silver's power at all.

"Silver?" he sneered in a low. "And a denizen of the future? I thought you looked familiar."

The white hedgehog narrowed his eyes and moved his arms closer to his body. As he did, the rocks that were caught in a glowing light also moved closer around him, almost forming some kind of barrier between him and Mephilies.

What did this guy mean by "I thought you looked familiar"? Did he see him and Blaze before they left for the past?

Regardless of why this freak said that, Silver couldn't let he guard down. Especially now that he was within striking distance of this creepy attacker.

"And you're the one who's been following me, aren't you?" Mephilies continued in the same tone he used before. "And for what purpose I may ask?"

"To stop you from destroying the world!" Silver declared. "Iblis has already devastated it, and I won't let you make it worse!"

"Are you sure it's really me you should be concerned about?" the grey hedgehog said almost mockingly. "Or is there someone else you should stop?"

"Don't try to deceive me!" Silver replied sternly. "I know what you're up to and I'm going to stop you!"

"Blaze," Shadow suddenly said in a low voice, "you get Sonic out of here. Silver and I can handle this."

The purple cat nodded as the black hedgehog got up from his place and walked forward in front of them. Blaze then immediately put Sonic's left arm over her shoulder and grabbed him around the waist for support.

When Shadow stopped next to Silver, he took up a fighting pose and a red light around his hands began to pulsate.

"So," Mephiles looked at Shadow, "you've come back to face me, Shadow."

Shadow simply glared and his evil look-alike.

"Two against one," Mephilies continued, looking slyly back and forth between the two hedgehogs, "that seems pretty unfair, don't you think? Well, why don't we even the odds?"

Mephiles then began to glow a violent purple. Before Silver knew what was happening, or had any time to react for that matter, the aura around the creepy hedgehog split away from to from a separate entity of its own.

Now there was a clone of Mephiles!

"Ah, that's better." Mephiles said in a wicked voice. "Now, where were we? Oh, that's right."

On a simultaneous command, Mephiles and his clone lunged at Silver and Shadow; their crystal weapons ready to kill.

Silver and Shadow both leapt out of the way just in the nick of time. Shadow then turned his attention to Mephiles and threw a red spear at him.

Meanwhile, Silver focused in on the Mephiles clone. Using his telekinesis, he hovered in the air and hurled his ammunition of large rocks at the clone. The clone put of a shield of some kind of violet crystal and attempted to stop the attack. While it was able to block some of the attack, one of the more larger boulders broke through the barrier like it was tissue paper. It hit the clone and sent it flying backwards and tumbling across the ground.

Silver landed firmly on the ground just as the clone was getting up. The clone looked at the ivory hedgehog with a poisonous stare and lunged toward him, the crystal spear pointed direct at Silver's heart.

Silver's hands began to glow a brilliant cyan as he curled them up into fists. As the clone attempted to stab him, the telekinetic hedgehog reached his left hand out and grabbed the clone by the wrists, directing the spear up into the air. With his right hand, he punched the clone in the chest, sending a wave of psychic energy through its body.

The clone stumbled backwards and Silver prepared himself for another attack. The clone got up and got ready to rush at the ivory hedgehog again. However, something strange began to happen.

The clone suddenly began curling up, like it was in pain. At the same time, there was an agonizing groan over where Shadow was fighting Mephiles.

Silver looked over in that direction and saw that Mephiles was on the ground, gripping his chest and struggling to stand up. As for Shadow, he didn't look triumphant, like he had just beaten this creep. Instead, he looked confused.

Silver then glanced back at the clone and was surprised to see that it was fading away. Pretty soon, it disappeared entirely into a dark purple mist and quickly floated back to Mephiles.

"Curse you, Solaris!" Mephiles angrily said. "Curse you! You can't defeat me so easily!"

Mephiles gave one last bitter glance at Shadow before directing his glare over to Silver. The white hedgehog stepped back a bit when he saw the evil hedgehog's face change to something a little more demonic than before.

"You'll pay for this!" he clenched, sounding weaker than before. "I'll be back!"

Before anyone had time to react, Mephiles disappeared in a flash of violet light.

For a moment, everything was silent. Shadow and Silver simply looked at each other with confusion.

"Shadow," Silver said, "what happened?"

"I don't know." Shadow shook his head. "He just keeled over. I didn't hit with an attack or anything."

"Something's not right," the telekinetic hedgehog said pensively. "He was strong and powerful before."

"Can you guys can think about that later?" Blaze interrupted. "I kind of need your help."

The two hedgehogs turned their attention to the lilac cat. She was crouched to the ground, trying to keep Sonic's limp body up. Although judging by how Blaze was struggling to keep a good grip on him, he was a little heavier than she could handle. As Shadow and Silver quickly ran over to her, they saw that Sonic was completely unconscious.

"Is he okay?" Silver asked.

"He's alive." Blaze replied. "But I think that battle really took a lot out of him. He needs help."

"I'm afraid the closest G.U.N. base is up in White Acropolis." Shadow said. "And that's ten miles from here."

"That's too far." Silver said. "And he needs help now."

Shortly after Silver said that, a strong voice came from the forest.

"Shadow, is that you?!"

Silver and the others looked up to see a red echidna with white, spiked boxing gloves running towards them.

"Knuckles!" Shadow shouted.

The said echidna approached the group and stopped. There was an obvious expression of confusion painted across his face. And who could blame him?

"Blaze," he looked at the purple cat, "what are you doing here? What happened to Sonic?" Knuckles then looked at Silver. "And who are you?"

"It's…a long story." Silver shrugged. "My name is Silver. And you're name is…Knuckles, right?"

"Yeah," the echidna nodded. "But that still doesn't explain what's going on here."

"Sorry, Knuckles," Blaze said, "but I'm afraid we don't have much time to explain. Sonic got into a fight and he needs help."

"Here, let me help you."

Blaze got up and stepped back as Knuckles grabbed Sonic and put the hedgehog's left arm over his shoulders. Knuckles then grabbed Sonic by the waist to support him up. The red echidna hoisted the blue hedgehog's limp body up like it was nothing. That certainly gave Silver the impression that this guy was strong.

"What are you doing here, Knuckles?" Shadow asked.

"Amy called me," Knuckles explained, "she said that Eggman was up to trouble again. She said you guys needed help. And judging by this, I think she might be right."

"Should you be guarding the Master Emerald?" Shadow pointed out.

"Tails gave me an invention to help with that," the echidna replied. "Besides, I'm only staying until all of this is over. Now, let's get Sonic back to the others. I know where they are."

"Well then," Silver said, "I guess we'll let you lead the way."

Without a moment of hesitation, the small group raced off through the woods, back to Wave Ocean.

* * *

"We should be ready to go soon." Tails said.

Shortly after Sonic had rushed off, the little twin-tailed fox got to work on making preparations to move the team to a hotel Sonic, Tails, and Amy had checked in with when they arrived in Soleanna. Since they wouldn't be able to take the Tornado into the city, Tails quickly put together some scooters for himself, Amy, and Elise to use to get there.

Meanwhile, Amy found a small cloak for Elise to wear. While they both were aware that would raise suspicion a bit, they weren't intending to walk the main streets. Instead, they decided that they would stick to the back roads as much as possible.

"How long do you will it take for us to get there?" Elise asked.

"With these scooters, about twenty minutes." Tails said.

"Don't worry, Elise." Amy smiled. "Everything we'll be okay."

"I know," Elise sighed. "I just can't help but worry."

"We understand," the pink hedgehog nodded. "But everything will turn out okay, I promise."

Elise was about to respond when they heard the sound of someone shouting.

"Tails! Amy!"

Everyone turned to the mouth of the cave and saw Knuckles, Shadow, Blaze, Silver, and an unconscious Sonic entering the cove.

Upon seeing Knuckles carrying Sonic's limp body, Tails and Amy immediately rushed over to see that the blue hedgehog was out cold.

"Knuckles," Amy cried, "what happened?! What's wrong with Sonic?!"

"Ask them," Knuckles motioned to the rest of his team, "because I have no idea."

"Shadow!" Amy looked at the said hedgehog with worry.

"He got in a fight with Mephiles," the ebony hedgehog said in a low voice.

Tails and Amy both gasped at the statement.

"Don't worry," Silver stepped forward, "he's just unconscious."

"Who are you?" Tails asked when Silver stepped into view.

Silver was about to respond when he heard the sound of his own name being whispered.

"Silver?"

The ivory hedgehog turned in the direction the whisper came from. However, before could see who said it, something rushed at him. The next thing he knew, he felt someone wrap their arms around him and hug him tightly. He tensed up and looked over to see a young human girl with ruby red hair embracing him. Needless to say, his face turned red and he felt his heart skip a beat. Silver had never been hugged by a girl, so naturally he felt really awkward.

Meanwhile, Blaze couldn't help but snicker a little at Silver's reaction. That's was just so typical of him that she couldn't help but smile.

However, what the girl said next surprised both her and everyone else, especially Silver.

"Oh, Silver, it is you!" the girl said in a happy voice. "You came back! I knew you'd come back!"

Silver's eyes widened and he looked over at the girl.

He had never seen her before. How did she know his name? And why was she acting like she knew him?

After her initial embrace of happiness and joy, Elise then noticed the hedgehog wasn't reacting too much. She even noticed he felt tense. She let him go and looked at him. The look on his face was unmistakable.

He was highly confused.

"Silver?" she said, concerned.

"Uh…should I know you?" Silver tentatively asked.

"Silver, it's me! Elise!" the redheaded girl asked. "Don't you recognized me?!"

Silver, now starting to feel a little uncomfortable, slowly shook his head. He didn't want to hurt this girl's feelings, since she clearly showed that knew him, but he had to be honest. He had no idea who she was.

Elise was about to respond, but at the last second, she held back her words. She then looked away from Silver and gave an expression that clearly showed she was thinking about something. Silver watched as her face subtly exchanged to something that looked vaguely like realization. She looked back at the hedgehog and let him go, quickly getting up and sheepishly stepping back.

"I-I'm very sorry." Elise apologized. "That was forward of me. I just…never mind. I'm sorry."

Elise, feeling embarrassed, walked away from the group and sat down the stool with her back towards the others. She curled up and hugged herself for comfort.

Wanting to change the mood of the atmosphere, Tails quickly motioned to everyone to the back of the cave to discuss their plans further. Silver, however, just stood still in his spot, staring straight ahead. He was obviously still dazed about what just happened.

Seeing her friend in a state of mild shock, Blaze walked up to Silver and placed a hand on his shoulder. Feeling the warm touch, Silver flinched a little and looked over to see Blaze looking straight into his face. She didn't look angry or jealous, but she did look concern.

"Silver," she asked in a low voice so as to not be heard by the others, "do you know that girl?"

"No," the hedgehog responded in the same tone, shaking his head.

"Well, she seems to know you." Blaze pointed out. "I mean, she called you by name."

"I know, but I don't know her." Silver said. "I don't know how she knows me."

"Well, why don't you ask her?"

Silver glanced away for a moment. He was already feeling bad for making Elise embarrassed, and he didn't want to make things even more awkward. Plus, he was a kind of tired and he didn't want to have a foggy mind when talking to someone about a subject like this.

"Maybe later," he looked back at Blaze. "Let's just focus on helping the others back to the city. We should also get some sleep when we get there, we've all had a long day."

"Okay." Blaze nodded.


End file.
